Pincushion.



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APPLICAT L D JAN. 9| |911. 1,229,05 1 Patented June 5, 1917.

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l [um nl l F. J. BOWLING.

PINCUSHION.

APPLICATION msn 1AN.9.1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.`

STATES ATENT von ICE.

IPINCU-SHION.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS J. DowLINe, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Pincushion, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to pin cushions or other analogous ornamental devices and has particular reference to the mechanical con* struction or assemblage of the several parts constituting the body or frame of ythe cushion.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, easily manipulated and reliable means for gripping and holding the resilient part of the cushion or the cushion proper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a base or frame adapted' for the utiliza tion of a plurality of bivalve shells, constituting the jaw portions or parts that hold the cushion.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one form of my improvement complete;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same;

Fig. 3 is a plan view ofl another form of my invention with the cushion removed to show the appearance of the interior of the jaw devices;

Fig. 4 is a perspective detail View of the frog shownv in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical central section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of a fur v ther modification;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of a frog modified in form slightly from that of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the form shown in Fig. 6.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, I show a pin cushion comprising a Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 5, 1917,

Application filed January 9, 1917. Serial No. 141,375.

base 10, a pedestal l1, a plurality of jaws 12, and a cushion proper 13, together with attachment devices holding the several parts in place with respect to one another.

The base and pedestal portions may be made of any suitable material or any desired configuration, but for the purpose of this description they may be regarded as being made of wood and adapted to be secured firmly together by a plurality of screws 14: extending through countersunk holes 15 in the base.

The pedestal is provided in its upper surface with a depression or pit 16, through the bottom of which is boredv Va hole 17 for a binding bolt 18, the lower yend of which projects preferably into a hole 19 bored or otherwise formed in the central portion of the base 10. This hole facilita-tes the centering of the pedestal upon the base when assembling the parts. The hole 17 is counterbored at 2O to receive the washer 21 and nut 22. The head and shoulder portions of the bolt cooperate with the frog 23 having hookshapedV ends engaging over the knob portions 241 of the shells or jaws. The shoulder portions 25 of the jaws bear upon the rim portion of the pit 16, and hence when the bolt is tightened drawing downwardly forcibly upon the frog, the outer edge portions 26 of the shoulders or jaws are caused to swing toward each other and embrace the cushion 13-in the manner indicated with sufficient force to positively retain the cushion in place.

The cushion 13 may obviously be constructed from any suitable fibrous or resilient material 27, inclosed within a bag or casing 28 and having an ornamental facing 29y where it is exposed to view. Likewise the base and pedestal portions of the device may be nished or ornamented in any suitable manner as, for example, by coverings 30 and 31, the edges of which are tacked or otherwise fastened to the respective parts along the plane of Contact between them. I also prefer to employ a piece of ornamental `cord or gimp 3Q around the meeting edge of the base and pedestal,said cord being partially embedded in the rabbet formed around the edge of the pedestal.

In assembling the device, the cushion is gripped within the jaws by cooperation of the bolt through the pedestal 11 and then the base portion is applied to thepeclestal through the operation of the screws 14. All

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invisible in the finished article. f

fastening devices, therefore, are practically y In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the main features are similar to. those in Figs. 1 and 2, there being shown i the base and pedestal members 10 and 11,

adapted to be secured together by screws 14.

While I have found'in experience that` natural bivalve shells, such as indicatedat 12, are suitable both as vto ornamental appearance landV practical strength, it is obvious that thejaws might :be formed artifi- Y cially land of various' designs, so long as the operation of the device remains Vsubstanl' tially the same. The base `or pedestal portions also of the device, as intimated above, may be made of other materia-l lthan wood such, for example, as vplaster of Paris, high grade concrete, glass or the like. If made of plastic material, the base and pedestal may be combined into one member or base 10, as indicated infFigs. 6 and 8. This member is formed with a pit '16', a countersunk hole or opening 2O in its bottom, and

a central hole 17 for the binding bolt 18. The washer 21 in this form of the invention is preferably cruciform, having itsfends arranged beneath or opposite the several shoulder portions'25 of the jaws for additional strength of the device.

The central portions of the frogs may Abe plane, as indicated in Fig, 2, or depressed,

as indicated in Figs. A: and 7 the latter showing a two-hooked frog 2821, which Y might be substituted for the one shown in Fig. 2. lVith the shouldersor jaws formed as shown and anchored in place in the man- Y ner indicated, it is impossible for any one of them to become loose and hence kthey cooperate with one another toholdthe cushion in iixed position reliably. I claim:

1. In a pin cushion, the combination of a support having a pit formed'therein, a plurality of curved jaws having their shoul-A der portions 'bearing in said pit, eachV jaw Copies of this patent'may he obtained for ve cents each, by addressing' having an inwardly and upwardly projecting knob, a member having hooks spanning the space between the knobs of the jaws and hooking over the same, means anchoringY Vof the pit, the jaw members being adapted to roll around their points of contact with the support, toward the central axis thereof, means engagingV the -lowerand inner edge portions of the jaws and servingto draw the sameV downwardly, causing the jaws to roll with their free edges toward each other, and a cushion arranged and held between the free edgesof the jaws.

3. In a pin cushion, the combination of a rigid support having a pit formed in its upf per surface with a Arounded rim and a ccntrail hole therethrough, a plurality of bivalve shell-shaped jaws ysupported with their rounded shoulder portions in the curved rim of the pit, the knob portions of the jaws projecting inwardly toward the axis of the hole, a frog having hook-shaped ends engaging over andinterlocking Ywith said j avv knobs, screw means acting through the frog drawing it downwardly toward the bottom of the pit and causing the rolling of the free portions of the aws toward one another, and a resilient cushion gripped between saidfree portions of the jaws.

4. In a. device of the character set forth, the'combination of a supporthaving a pit formed therein, a plurality of jaws having rounded shoulder portions bearing in said pit, Veach 'jaw having inwardly andr upwardly projecting knobs, a frog having hooks spanning the space between the knobs rniinois a. nownine.VV

Washington', D. C.

the Commissioner of zratents, j 

